


The Shadow

by PattRose



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst, Established couple, Language, M/M, Minor Character Death, Nice William, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 05:51:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/858571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PattRose/pseuds/PattRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blair thinks someone is following him and can’t figure out why.  He knows he’s going to have to tell Jim about it and doesn’t want to do that at all.  Who is following him and why?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Shadow

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/user/PattRose1/media/theshadow_zpsb4967d64.jpg.html)

The Shadow  
By Patt

Summary: Blair thinks someone is following him and can’t figure out why. He knows he’s going to have to tell Jim about it and doesn’t want to do that at all. Who is following him and why?   
Word Count: 13,700  
Warning: Minor character death, angst, language.   
Genre: Slash  
Rating: R  
Beta: Kerensa

Blair was driving home alone, again, because his very private roommate and lover didn’t want to come out at the station. He figured less people would ask questions if they drove themselves to work. Blair didn’t agree, but there was no arguing with him about this. His mind was made up. Jim could be as stubborn as Blair could be. 

Blair had bought a small pickup when he became a cop. He figured it would be good on gas and not everyone would be driving a small pickup. It was deep dark blue and seemed to go with his eyes, if you could believe Jim when he was being mushy. 

Blair tried to concentrate on driving but was having a hard time. That morning, Jim had been very aggressive with their love making. Sometimes, both of the men acted like they never got sex. When in all actuality they had it a lot. Blair smiled at his reflection in the rear view mirror and noticed a blue Chevy sedan was five cars behind him. He had looked about ten minutes before that and saw the same vehicle. Whoever it was, never got too close. Blair continued to watch both his driving and the mirror. Why would anyone be following him? He turned right on the next corner and then went up five blocks to the following corner and turned left to get back to Prospect. Yes, he definitely had a tail. When Blair finally got to the loft parking lot, he was relieved beyond belief. Now, was he going to tell Jim about this? _I’m not going to bring it up unless it becomes a problem. Then I’ll tell him. For right now, I think I should keep him in the dark._

Blair walked up the stairs to the loft and got inside and locked the door. For some reason he was a little nervous. _Now you’re getting freaky,_ He unchained the door, because he knew Jim would wonder why the chain was on the door when he got home. 

Blair put his gun up safely, hung his jacket on the hook by the door and then went in and washed his hands. He was going to make something nice for Jim for dinner. That would take his mind off the stupid tail. 

Blair began to fix chicken stir fry and heard Jim’s key in the door. Jim walked in,closed and locked the door, walked across the living room and pulled the drapes closed on the balcony door and then walked over and kissed Blair hello. 

For some reason, this pissed Blair off. “Are you afraid someone’s going to see us in our own home?”

“Now, don’t be mad. I just like to keep our personal lives private, Chief. I thought you were on board with that.”

“Jim, you’ve never asked me if I was on board with that. You asked me to keep my mouth shut about the two of us, but never asked me if I was on board,” Blair answered, getting more pissed off by the moment. 

Jim decided he would change the subject. “What are you making for dinner? It smells great.”

“Jim, you’re a sentinel, if you can’t figure out what I’m cooking for dinner, you’re in big trouble,” Blair said. 

“Okay, time out. Why are you so angry?” Jim asked. 

“Maybe I would like to have friends know about us. You know? When the guys and Megan came for poker, she’s the only one who noticed we’re a couple.”

“That’s not quite true, Blair. Remember Simon figured it out too.”

“Oh, big whoop. So two people, out of all the people we know, are aware of us being a couple. I just thought it would be easier. You know what I mean?”

Jim moved silently across the room and said, “Don’t be mad, Blair.” He kissed Blair on the neck and Blair knew he was going to forgive him again. Jim knew exactly where to kiss Blair to get the best results. _Damn Sentinels, anyhow._ Blair could feel his cock swelling behind his zipper and knew that Jim’s would be too. _I am not giving in this easy._

“Get cleaned up and you can help me make dinner and set the table,” Blair suggested. 

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” Jim wondered. 

Blair pulled him down for a quick kiss and said, “I always forgive you. Now, get cleaned up.” _Damn, I did it again._

Jim walked into the bathroom, whistling a happy tune and Blair knew that he didn’t want to tell Jim about the tail tonight. That would be a bad thing. It would ruin a good night. Plus, Blair had plans on making love with Jim later that evening. 

Jim came out and helped make dinner and then set the table while Blair finished everything up. 

“Dinner’s done,” Blair said, smiling. 

“It smells delicious, Blair.”

“Thank you, babe,” Blair answered. 

They both sat down at the table. As they ate, Blair noticed that Jim kept watching him and Blair finally set his fork down and asked, “What’s up with you tonight?”

“Are you happy working with me?” Jim asked, nervously. 

“Why in the hell are you asking that, Jim?”

“I overheard someone today at the station say that you looked sad. I don’t ever want you to be sad, Chief.”

“Then stop worrying about it. I love working with you. Now eat and stop thinking,” Blair ordered. 

As they ate, Blair wondered who was telling Jim that he was sad. He finally couldn’t stand it any longer and asked, “Who said I was sad, Jim?”

“Someone in traffic and Joel Taggart. I wasn’t too concerned about the guy in traffic, but I was concerned when Joel asked me about you. That’s why I wondered if you were happy.”

“Jim, I’m fine. I would be happier if we were out. I don’t like being your little secret. So, until that day comes, I’ll probably look sad to someone, all the time.”

“Blair, give me a few weeks to work things out in my head and we’ll talk about it again. I want you to be happy and I want me to be happy too.”

They finished eating, did the dishes and went into the living room for the evening.

!!!!!!!!!!

Later that night, they were sitting on the sofa and Jim started to fall asleep. “Oh, no you don’t. You promised we would make love tonight. Remember, you promised me this morning?”

Jim kissed him and said, “Then I suggest we get started now, or I won’t be awake for the big bang.”

Blair pulled him off the sofa and said, “I’ll meet you upstairs. I have to lock up and shut off all the lights. Go.” Blair shoved his lover towards the stairs and went to take care of the front door and the lights. 

“This morning you were a bossy bottom and tonight you’re a bossy top. See you soon, Chief.” Jim climbed the stairs slowly and Blair noticed he seemed to be limping. 

Blair made sure everything was locked and lights off and walked up the stairs. 

“What’s wrong with your leg tonight?” Blair asked, as he stripped and slid into the bed next to Jim.

“Just tired, is all. It does that from time to time. Now, where were we?” Jim pulled Blair on top of him and began to kiss him. 

Jim was hard, so Blair figured that he was fine. They were both getting older and Blair needed to remember not to worry so much about that. After all, Jim was ten years older than he was. 

Blair got busy and gave Jim a blow job that was the highlight of Jim’s night. When he came, he just growled Blair’s name, making Blair almost laugh, while trying to swallow Jim’s come. 

Blair got Jim all stretched and ready and slid in once he had Jim’s legs around his waist. Blair pushed in slowly, because it had been awhile since Jim had bottomed and Blair didn’t want to hurt him. Slow and easy was the name of the game. Blair knew exactly how to do it and Jim was begging for more in no time. When Blair finally started pumping into Jim’s sweet, hot, center, he noticed that Jim was hard once again. Blair asked Jim to fist his cock as continued to thrust in and out. Before long, Jim came again almost whimpering and Blair went over the cliff right behind him, throwing his head back and growling, ‘Jim’. Blair lay right on top of Jim’s come and just rested for a few moments. 

“You do know that my come is going to work like glue on your chest hair, right?” Jim kidded. 

“I don’t care. I love this, Jim. I want to just be with you like this for awhile.”

Jim didn’t know what had brought that on, but he liked it. So, he hugged Blair until Blair finally slid out of Jim. Then Blair went downstairs, got a warm wash cloth and cleaned them both up. 

Once they were in each others arms for the night, Jim said, “That’s the best fucking I’ve ever had, Chief.” 

“I enjoyed it too, Jim. Now, go to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Blair said as he kissed Jim’s lips and fell asleep half-way through the second kiss. 

Jim would have laughed if it wasn’t for the fact that he was exhausted, too. He pulled Blair in closer and they were both out for the night.

!!!!!!!!!!

**The Following Day**

Work was slow and mostly uneventful. Blair got caught up on all of their paperwork and Jim was thrilled about that. Once they were done for the night, Jim grabbed his jacket and said, “I’m going to stop at the store and get some items for dinner tonight. My turn to cook. Okay?”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll be home waiting for you,” Blair said as he walked up to Simon’s door. “Night Simon, see you tomorrow.”

Simon chewed on his unlit cigar and grunted a greeting in return. Blair laughed and walked to the elevator. Once in, he waved at Jim and saw Jim blush. This made Blair’s day. He looked for ways to make Jim blush. Sometimes it took very little to do it. Today was one of those days.

!!!!!!!!!!

As Blair drove home, he noticed a different car following him. This time it was a green Ford sedan. Or it at least looked like he was following him. Now, this was bugging Blair and he was going to tell Jim about it that night. He already knew that Jim would have a cow, but it couldn’t be helped.

Blair turned to lose the tail, but this guy was good. And Blair could almost see that it was a man in the car. _What do they want with me?_ He drove and parked at the library and went in. He decided he would get a book and hopefully the person would be gone when he got out. He checked out three books, two for him and one for Jim and walked outside feeling good about not having a tail again. He hadn’t driven but one block and the tail was back. _Goddamn it, anyway._

Blair drove as quickly as he could to get home and was thrilled when he saw Jim’s car in the parking lot. When he drove up he sounded his horn and Jim came out to the balcony with questioning eyes. 

Blair waved at him and saw the car drive by. He went too fast to get a plate number, but at least Blair was going to know what to watch for from now on. 

When he got upstairs the drapes were already pulled and Jim pulled him into his arms and began to kiss him. 

Blair pushed him away, quite hard. 

“What’s going on, Blair?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Blair said as he began to pace. “I’m tired of being your secret. Open the damned drapes and I mean it, or that’s it.”

“You’re going to call us quits because I close the drapes?” Jim asked. 

“In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that I have something to tell you, I wouldn’t even bother talking to you at all tonight. First of all, no one can see us from the street, you jerk,” Blair ranted. 

Jim immediately became alarmed and asked, “What happened?”

“I picked up a shadow yesterday and thought it was my imagination, but he was back tonight. So there you go, go ahead and yell at me now,” Blair said. 

Instead, Jim pulled Blair into his arms and said, “Tell me about this man.”

Blair knew that Jim was upset, but he was staying calm for Blair’s sake. Now this was the Jim he knew and loved, the one that used his head most of the time. 

Jim let go of Blair and waited to hear about the man. Blair filled him in on both days, telling him how they were different cars, so that threw him off a little to start with. But then he told him about his stop at the library and the man was back after that. Jim frowned and went over to the balcony doors and pulled the drapes open. He wasn’t going to shut them anymore. He needed to watch out for Blair, he couldn’t do that through curtains. 

Blair was amazed at how good Jim was taking the news. But as Jim started dinner, Blair could see he was plenty angry. His Blessed Protector was deeply disturbed about all this. 

They ate dinner but Jim still wasn’t looking at him. This concerned Blair. “Jim, are you upset about me not telling you?”

“A little, Chief. But, I’m not that angry at you, I’m just worried about you.” 

He told Blair about his worries about him as they ate dinner. It was small talk mostly, but Blair tried to keep things light, so Jim wouldn’t take it so seriously. 

When dinner was over they did the dishes in silence. Blair worried that Jim was pissed, now. He was past angry and now he wasn’t talking to Blair at all. 

Jim turned to Blair and asked, “May I make love to you, right now?”

Blair smiled. This was Jim’s way of being protective. “Yes, I’ll meet you up there. Just give me a few to lock up.”

“I’ll lock up, you meet me upstairs.”

“Okay, Jim, I will.”

Once upstairs Jim stripped Blair of his clothing, one piece at a time. This was a total turn on to Blair and he was going with it full force. 

Before long they were both naked on the bed and Jim was so gentle and loving that Blair became emotional at one point. “Jim, are you that worried about me?”

“Yes, Blair, I am. Someone is watching you and it’s not me. They have no right to do it. I’m going to be watching you like a hawk until we get this guy. From now on you’ll ride with me to and from work.”

“But Jim, if it really is someone after me, they won’t follow if I’m with you,” Blair pointed out. 

“What do you suggest?” Jim asked. 

“How about if you follow a few streets behind and see if anyone is following me. They’re probably watching you, too.”

“Okay, we’ll do that tomorrow after work. Now, let’s stop talking and make love.”

And they did exactly as Jim wanted.

!!!!!!!!!!

For the next three days, Jim followed Blair after they got off work. But no one was following Blair. Jim was getting frustrated and so was Blair.

That night at dinner, Blair said, “Jim, I want to have you stay at work for at least a half-hour after I leave tomorrow and we’ll see if he comes when it’s only me on the road. Can you trust me to take care of myself?”

Jim smiled at Blair. “I always trust you, Chief. Always. I will allow it for a day or two and then I’m going to start watching you again.”

“That sounds fair, Jim. I don’t know about you, but I’m pooped. I’m going to watch some tv and then go to bed early,” Blair announced. 

There was little small talk that night, because Blair had other things on his mind. First of all, who would be following him? Secondly, why did Jim have to keep them a secret? Blair wasn’t sure he could live with that decision. 

Almost as if Jim could read Blair’s mind, he said, “Why don’t we have poker night this weekend and tell everyone about us?”

“You mean it?” Blair asked, happily. 

“Yes, I mean it. Now, lean on me and take a little nap before bed.”

!!!!!!!!!!

For the next two days, Blair was followed by the same car on the way home. But this time, he took note of the make of the car, color and hopefully he could get the license plate number. He was driving along and parked in front of the hardware store by their house. As the tail drove by, Blair memorized the plate number and the model of the car. At least it was somewhere to start.

!!!!!!!!!!

Blair rushed into the loft and Jim asked, “You got something?”

Blair handed him the paper with all of the info on it and smiled. “Good work, Chief. This is going to be one of the sorriest days of his life.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid, Jim. Let’s find out what he wants with me and go from there,” Blair warned. 

“I’ll be good, Chief, even if I don’t want to be,” Jim promised. 

Jim called all of the information in and Simon told him he would check into it right away and bring the answers to the loft. 

“Simon’s going to bring us any info he gets on this driver.”

“Good. I’m glad he’s taking it seriously, Jim.”

An hour later, Simon arrived at the door. 

Jim opened it and let him in. “Any news, Simon?”

Simon smiled at Jim to try and calm him down. “Yes, I have some news. The car and the plate belong to a PI in town by the name of Brandon Sawyer. Someone no doubt has reason to watch Blair. I can’t figure it out, but we can’t go charge him with anything because we can’t prove he was following Blair. I’m sorry, Blair. But Jim and I can pay him a visit tomorrow and see if we can talk him into telling us what he’s doing.”

“Whatever you can do, Simon. Thanks for trying,” Blair said, dejectedly as he climbed the stairs to their bedroom. Then he thought of something. _What if the jerk is watching me here at the house?_ Blair got down on the floor and scooted over and looked out the corner of the window and sure enough, there was **the** car, big as day. 

Blair came down the stairs and smiled at Jim. “Guess whose out in the parking lot?”

Jim started to go for the door and Simon stopped him. “Let me call it in, Jim. That way they’ll get him and we’ll ask him some questions.”

“Fine, but he better not get away,” Jim warned. 

Simon called for three black and whites, no sirens and in five minutes they were there and surrounding the man in the car. 

Jim, Simon and Blair walked down the stairs and found a very irate man yelling at the cops. 

Simon walked up and said, “Just what do you think you’re doing watching these people through their windows?” 

The man looked somewhat confused and said, “I’m just watching the stars. It’s such a lovely night and I needed some air. You can’t arrest me for parking in a parking lot. I’m not doing anything, but you’re harassing me. I would suggest you let me go right now before I file charges.”

Simon and Jim knew the dude was right. So Simon had the cops let him go and he took off like a bat out of hell. Blair turned around and started back up for the elevator. 

“Blair, we had no proof that it was him,” Simon said. 

“I was the proof, Simon. I’ve seen people get more action from you, for less.”

“We can tail him, Blair and watch and see who hired him. Just wait and see. We’ll get this all resolved,” Simon swore. 

“I’m going to bed,” Blair said as he walked back into the building. 

“Simon, we’ll see you in the morning. I’ll talk to him.”

“Night, Jim.”

“Night, Simon.”

When Jim got upstairs, he locked up and shut all the lights out. He knew Blair was upstairs, he heard his heartbeat as soon as he had walked in the door. It wasn’t elevated, so Jim figured Blair wasn’t really too upset. He knew the way they would have to do this and accepted it. 

As soon as he got up the stairs, he got undressed and slid into bed, pulling Blair into his arms immediately. Blair was asleep within moments.

!!!!!!!!!!

Simon had everyone running checks on the PI and put Rafe and Brown on a detail for watching this jerk. After a few hours, Rafe called Simon and said, “He’s having lunch with the Commissioner. Is there any reason for the Commissioner to keep an eye on Sandburg?”

“Not that we know of. Keep watching and I’ll talk to Blair about it. We’ll see you when you come in to write your report,” Simon said. 

Simon went to his doorway and barked, “Ellison, Sandburg, my office.”

Jim and Blair didn’t fool around with that order. They were there in moments. 

“Sir?” Jim asked. 

“Sit down, both of you and stop with the sir business,” Simon kidded. 

“Have you heard something? “ Blair asked. 

“Would there be any reason for the Police Commissioner to be having lunch with the PI that we’re tailing?” 

Jim and Blair looked at each other and Jim was the first to answer. “Maybe the PI is just friends with the Commissioner. There is no reason he would be tailing Blair. None.”

“Do you agree, Sandburg?” Simon asked. 

“Yes, Simon, I agree. I think it’s just something that happened. We should still continue watching him and see where he goes and who he sees,” Blair suggested. 

“They’re back at it right now. They’ll be back in a few hours and we’ll see if they have anything to go on,” Simon stated. 

Jim and Blair both stood up and Blair said, “Thank you, Simon.”

“See if you can get some real police work done today,” Simon teased and almost shoved them out of his office. 

When they sat down at their desks, Jim asked, “Blair would you like to have dinner tonight? I mean, go out for dinner.”

“As in a date?” Blair asked. Since they had been seeing each other, they never went out in public because Jim didn’t want people talking. 

“Yeah, a date,” Jim said smiling. 

“I would love to, thank you. Where are we going?” Blair wondered. 

“I thought we’d go to Brad’s Bar and Grill and you could get your favorite Reuben sandwich. I know you love them.”

Blair whispered, “I love you. That would be great, thank you.”

With all of this going on, Jim realized that he had to make time for Blair. He had to make personal time for Blair and to hell with anyone finding out about them. Jim didn’t really care anymore. Blair is what counted most in his life.

Jim looked over at Blair working hard on some fucking file and whispered, “I’m going to tell everyone that is our friend today.”

“Jim, what is going on?” Blair was getting worried. 

“I’m tired of hiding you. It’s time to be out,” Jim admitted. 

“Thank you. Who are you telling first?” Blair asked. 

“Joel. I’m heading in there now. See you in a little while,” Jim said, as he left the bullpen and headed for Joel’s office. 

When he knocked on the door, Joel called out, “Come in.”

Jim stuck his head in the door and asked, “Are you busy?”

Joel smiled and said, “How about a cup of coffee?”

“That sounds good, Joel, thank you.”

“Now, what’s going on? Is there anything new from Rafe and Brown?” Joel asked. 

Jim filled him in on the Commissioner and Joel said, “Maybe he found out about you and Blair being together.”

Jim almost choked on his coffee. Joel knew? Jim thought he had been so careful. 

“Did you think that no one knew, Jim?” Joel asked. 

“We were trying to keep it private, but then I realized I was treating Blair like some secret that no one could know about and it wasn’t fair. So, I decided to tell all our friends today.”

Joel smiled. “Jim, I think it’s wonderful that you two have found each other. Everyone should be so lucky. Now, just be careful with this tail that’s on him and make sure you keep him safe. We sort of like him.”

Jim found himself almost misty eyed from this remark. “Thanks, Joel. I will guard him with my life.”

“When are Rafe and Brown coming back?” Joel inquired. 

“They should be back in an hour. I better get back out there in case something is going on. Talk to you soon, Joel.”

Joel walked him to the door and patted him on the back. Jim smiled all the way back to the bullpen. He couldn’t believe that it had gone so smoothly. Joel was a good friend. Hopefully, Rafe and Brown would go half as easy.

!!!!!!!!!!

When Rafe and Brown came into the bullpen you could tell they knew something. Jim and Blair both stood up and watched as they headed into Simon’s office.

“What do you think is going on?” Blair asked. 

“I’m not going to listen, Chief.”

“Right… That would be wrong, damn it.”

At that moment, the door opened and Simon yelled, “Sandburg and Ellison, my office.”

They walked in and saw Rafe and Brown standing over by the window. Jim couldn’t tell anything by their body language. 

“What’s up, Simon?” Jim asked. 

“I’ll tell you what’s up. Guess who met the PI today at the Cascade Tower Hotel?”

“Who?” Blair asked. 

Simon waited a moment and said, “Sid Graham is at that hotel and was meeting him. Is there any reason, he would be watching you, Sandburg?”

“I’m sure the man hates me for losing his job and suing his company, but other than that, I don’t know why he would be here. It makes no sense to me. I’ve moved on since the lawsuit and I thought he had too. I mean, William Ellison helped me get that all taken care of and found me a good lawyer. I thought it was in the past,” Blair guessed. 

Brown said, “Well, something is going on because he was smiling like crazy when the PI told him something. He looked pretty darn happy.”

“Then Sid Graham handed him an envelope and the PI opened it and he was smiling too. I would guess he paid him a great deal to find something out about Sandburg,” Rafe suggested. 

Jim thought there was no time like the present and said, “He probably told him we were a couple and Sid thinks he has something over us.”

“You’re a couple?” Brown asked, smiling. 

“Yes, we were going to tell everyone today and I decided that now was as good a time as any. Rafe, are you all right with this news?” Jim asked. 

“Hell, I thought you were a couple last year. It doesn’t bother me in the least. People think you’re a couple, Jim. I’m surprised **you** didn’t hear it before me saying anything.” 

Simon frowned. “Rafe, we can’t have people thinking he’s a Sentinel or it’ll make problems for him and the department.”

“I didn’t say a word,” Rafe said, smiling. 

“Jim, I think you should go to the hotel tomorrow, alone, and ask Sid Graham what his intentions are. Tell him you know about the PI and the tail. Ask him what he wants with Blair and then tell him that you’re going to put a restraining order out on him and he had better stay away from Blair,” Simon suggested. 

“Why can’t I go?” Blair asked. 

Simon said, “You’re not going, Sandburg. Don’t even think you’re going to win on this. In fact, you finish up the paperwork from today and I’ll send Jim now.”

“This sucks,” Blair said, leaving the office and letting everyone know he was pissed off. 

“We’ll keep him company, Jim,” Rafe said. 

“Thanks, but it’s just about time to go home, so he can go home when he wants to, Simon.”

“Jim, I don’t want him over there until we’ve found out the level of danger for him,” Simon explained. 

“I’ll leave now, sir.” Jim got his jacket and left as soon as he told Blair he was leaving.

!!!!!!!!!!

Jim walked into the hotel lobby and showed his badge. He said that it was a police emergency and that he needed Sid Graham’s room number. The girl at the desk must have been new because she looked it up and just gave it to Jim. Jim expected a big argument and got none. He got into the elevator and watched the numbers pass by as he waited for the 11th floor. Sid Graham was in room 1106 and Jim could hardly wait to see him.

He got off the elevator and walked to the door. He knocked three times and the door was opened by no other than Naomi Sandburg. To say Jim was surprised was an understatement. 

“Naomi, what are you doing here? Why are you with Sid Graham?” Jim asked. 

“We’re watching to see what’s going on with Blair. We’ve both been worried about him since the lawsuit. He seems so unhappy and never goes anywhere but the loft. I was worried out of my mind and Sid decided we would hire a PI to watch him and then we would take things as they came. But we weren’t expecting to find out that the two of you were lovers. And you keep him at the loft like he’s some dirty secret. How dare you treat Blair like that? Sid didn’t like it either and was willing to help me talk to Blair about things. You’re going to make this more difficult aren’t you?” Naomi asked. 

“Sid Graham has had Blair followed for the last however many days and Blair wasn’t happy about that. Now, he’s going to find out that his mother had something to do with it. Why didn’t you just come to the loft and talk to him and ask him questions?”

“Why? Because you’re always with him and he is afraid to talk about anything with you hanging around all the time. Jim, you’re very imposing and you’ve done something to my sweet son. He never would have become a cop years ago. He can’t be happy. And I will talk to him when I feel like it. You can’t boss me around,” Naomi said, hatefully. 

“Naomi, would you come to the loft tonight and talk to him? Please?”

“I guess I could do that since you asked so nicely. But it has to be Blair’s choice about what he says and does. You’re not his father and you’re not his boss. Let him make his own choices, Jim.”

Jim said, “I’ll see you tonight, then.” Jim left and drove home with a heavy heart. Did he smother Blair? Was Blair sad and unhappy? Would Blair tell him the truth? Jim would soon find out.

!!!!!!!!!!

Blair got home and started dinner, wanting to call Jim in the worst way, but knew he had to wait for Jim to get home so he could see Jim’s face when he told him what was going on. He already knew that Jim would try and cover up some of the hurt, because that’s what Jim did. Sentinels were very protective.

Jim loved Taco Soup, so that is what Blair was making for dinner. First he browned the hamburger and drained it so there was no fat left at all. Then he added two cans of dices tomatoes, two cans of black beans, one can of pinto beans and one can of corn. Then he added the taco seasoning and let it simmer for awhile and knew that Jim would probably be home soon and things were almost ready. Blair put the tortilla chips on the table and the bowl of grated cheddar cheese. It was so odd that you crushed up the chips and put them in the bottom of the bowl and added shredded cheese and topped with the soup. Everyone thought it sounded so gross, but whenever he made it for poker night, they never had any left. 

As Blair was stirring the soup, Jim walked in and he didn’t look very happy. Blair walked over to Jim and pulled him into his arms and hugged him very close. 

“Was it that bad talking to Sid Graham?”

“I never got to talk to Sid Graham. Someone else was there and they are coming over tonight to talk to you about things,” Jim tried to explain. 

“Oh, for crying out loud, it was my mother, right? What is she still doing hanging around Sid Graham? And why does she want to talk to me tonight so badly?” Blair asked. 

“She thinks you can do a lot better than me and plans to tell you everything that’s wrong with us,” Jim said, stoically. 

“Hey, tough guy. I’m not buying the act. You’re upset and so am I. Now, come and eat dinner with me, I made your favorite dinner.”

Jim perked up a little bit and asked, “Taco Soup?”

“Yes, Taco Soup. Now come get cleaned up for dinner,” Blair bossed and Jim did exactly that. 

They made up their bowls of soup and ate quietly, Jim making all of the proper yum noises from time to time. But they didn’t talk. Jim didn’t trust himself to talk right then. 

Once dinner was done, they helped each other do the dishes and then went in and sat on the sofa waiting for Naomi to show up. 

“Did she at least give you a time when she would be here?” Blair inquired. 

“No, she just said tonight.”

“Jim, why do you look like you lost me already? Aren’t you going to fight for me?” Blair wondered. 

“Blair, she thinks you can do better then me,” Jim answered. 

“But, what do you think, Jim?” 

“I think we’re a good couple, but what do I know?” Jim replied. 

“Why are we a good couple?” Blair asked. 

“I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I’ve never felt so loved as I have since I became a part of your life. You make my life perfect and I’m ashamed of the fact that I tried to keep us quiet for so long. I’m going to tell my dad tomorrow. He has the right to know about his son and his son-in-law.”

Blair went into Jim’s arms and just held on tight. “Jim, this is why we are the perfect couple. You adore me and I adore you. We’re better for each other than anyone else. No matter what my mom says, it won’t make a bit of difference to me. I know one thing and that is that I love you more than my own life. Thank you for loving me.”

Jim kissed Blair on the top of the head and said, “I do adore you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m never letting you go. So, Naomi is in for a fight tonight. She might think she knows you best, but she doesn’t. I understand now, Chief.”

“Good. Now, let’s watch some news until she gets here.”

They snuggled on the sofa until it was ten o’clock and no Naomi. “I knew she wouldn’t show up. That’s so her.”

“Maybe something came up, Chief.”

“And no doubt it was more important than me,” Blair said sadly. 

“Let’s get ready for bed, Blair. We’ll go by and see her tomorrow on the way to work. Come on, let’s get upstairs,” Jim said, softly. 

Blair was comforted by Jim’s soft voice and was glad he had him in his corner. Thank God, Jim hadn’t listened to Naomi.

!!!!!!!!!!

First thing in the morning, Blair called Simon and told him they would in late. They had to stop at the hotel to talk to Sid Graham as well as his mom. Blair filled him in on why his mom would have been there.

Simon was very surprised. He hadn’t expected to hear about the two of them working on something ever again. Simon told Blair not to worry about work and just take care of business. 

When Jim walked out of the bathroom, Blair was smiling. Jim had no idea why. 

“Why are you so happy?” Jim asked. 

“I love the way you loved me, big man. Let’s get ready to go and find my mom so I can kick ass and take names,” Blair said, still smiling. 

Jim smiled back at him and said, “By the way, I really, really enjoyed myself this morning.”

“You’re kidding, right? I never would have been able to tell, Jim.” Both men broke into laughter. Jim was determined to have a good day and so was Blair. Sometimes good days just weren’t in the cards, though.

!!!!!!!!!!

Jim and Blair arrived at the hotel and asked for the manager.

“I’m Mr. Stanley, can I help you?”

“Mr. Stanley, I’m Detective Jim Ellison and this is Detective Blair Sandburg. We are both from Major Crimes at CPD. We need to speak with two of your guests as quickly as possible,” Jim said. 

“What room and what are their names, please?” Mr. Stanley asked. 

“Room 1106 and its Sid Graham and Naomi Sandburg.”

“I’m sorry to tell you that you missed them by about three hours. They checked out at dawn this morning. They didn’t say where they were going,” Mr. Stanley said. 

“Did they give you a copy of his license and plate number?” Jim asked. 

“Will that help, Detective Ellison?” Mr. Stanley asked. 

“That would help a great deal. We would know where to look and what type of vehicle they are in. If you can give us a copy, that would be fantastic,” Jim said. 

In the meantime, Blair called his mother’s phone and left three messages for her. He told her that it was important that they talk to her immediately. Blair only hoped that she would get back to him. 

Sometimes, that wasn’t in the cards either.

!!!!!!!!!!

When Blair and Jim arrived at the bullpen, everyone was asking what had happened the night before. Jim filled everyone in while Blair went in to Simon’s office with the information they needed for an APB for Naomi Sandburg. They couldn’t really put one out on Sid Graham because he had done nothing physically to Blair, he had just had him followed. Strangely enough, that’s wasn’t enough to put out an APB.

The day went pretty quickly because Jim and Blair were called out to a murder sight early in the day. When they arrived back at the bullpen to fill out their paperwork, Simon was waiting for them. 

“Hey, Simon, how are things?” Blair asked. 

“How did the murder go?” Simon asked. 

“We already closed it, Simon, it was so easy. The guy fell apart and told us more than we wanted to know about the murder. Sometimes they are easy and sometimes they are really hard to crack. Today was a good day,” Jim said, smiling. 

“There is no news on your mom yet, Blair. I just wanted you to know that they are scouring the city looking for that vehicle and haven’t found it yet,” Simon stated. 

“Thanks for keeping us informed, Simon,” Blair said as he went to his desk to fill out the paperwork. 

Jim looked at Simon oddly and said, “Is there something else going on?”

“No. I think it’s odd that we can’t find Sid Graham unless he’s switched cars already. He might have. Maybe we could talk to the PI and get some info from him,” Simon suggested. 

“Could we do it tomorrow, Simon? It’s almost time to go home and I don’t want to have to find a home address for that jerk anyhow. Plus, he probably wouldn’t deal with us. We’ll try first thing in the morning,” Jim said. 

“That sounds good to me. Now, get your paperwork done and go home,” Simon barked. 

“Yes, sir,” Jim answered, laughing all the way over to his desk. 

Blair and Jim finished up their work and left for the day. In the parking lot, Jim said, “I’m going to have to stop at the store on the way home for something for dinner.”

“No, I’ll drop you home and then I’ll run to the store. God only knows what you would bring home to eat.” Blair smiled, even though he had just insulted Jim. 

“Okay, I can live with that, Chief. I’ll drive home and then you can take my truck,” Jim said. 

“I’ll take mine once we get to the loft. I like it better than Sweetheart. My Precious is much easier to handle,” Blair said, wearing another huge smile. 

“Precious, huh?” Jim asked. 

“That’s what I call her now,” Blair confessed and dared Jim to make fun. 

But Jim didn’t. He privately was thinking it was the perfect name for Blair’s truck since it carried Jim’s most precious cargo every day.

!!!!!!!!!!

Blair was on his way to the grocery store when he thought he might have picked up another tail. In fact, it looked like the car they had been looking for. Blair slowed down and the car pulled up beside him and Blair could see that it was indeed Sid Graham and the next thing Blair knew, Sid pulled out a gun and started shooting up his Precious. He missed Blair, but Blair lost control of the truck and it flipped three times before coming to a complete stop.

Once the truck stopped spinning, Blair pulled his gun out in case Sid came back to finish the job, but he could see Sid pulling away into traffic as Blair laid upside down in his truck, waiting for help. It took awhile for it to set in, but Blair knew he had a broken arm and broken leg. Suddenly the pain seemed worse and Blair passed out. 

While Blair was being attended to, the police that were called were questioning all of the witnesses to the scene of the crime. Two people got the plate number and four more got a good look at the driver and what type of car he was driving. They knew they needed to get it all taken care of and the paperwork done as soon as possible. The first cop, Wagner, called it in and gave a description of the man, the car and the plate number. Once that was done, things would go faster and easier.

!!!!!!!!!!

When the ambulance got there, they recognized Blair Sandburg and called Simon Banks.

“Banks…”

“Captain Banks, this is EMT Tyler Hawkins and I wanted to let you know that we are just getting ready to transport one of your men to Cascade General. His name is Blair Sandburg. Looks like a concussion, a broken leg and a broken wrist. ETA will be about ten minutes. It was a hit and run, sir,” Tyler rattled off. 

“Thank you, Tyler. I’ll get his partner and get up to the hospital as soon as we can. I’m glad you recognized him, son.”

“I am too, sir. Now, we have to go. See you up there,” Tyler said as they shut the back door on the ambulance. 

Simon called Joel quickly and asked him to look out for Major Crimes while Simon was busy. He filled Joel in on what had happened. 

“Go, Simon. I’ll be right there,” Joel promised. “Tell Jim to try and keep calm.”

“I’ll do that, Joel. Now, I’ve got to go pick up Mount Ellison. He’s going to be ready to erupt by the time we get to the hospital. Will you fill everyone in for me?” Simon asked. 

“Go, on Simon. I’ll take care of everything.” 

Simon rushed to the elevator not saying a word to anyone. Megan was the first one to get worried. 

“Do you think something happened to Jim and Blair?” Megan asked. 

“Now, why would you think that, Connor?” Rafe asked. 

“Because our boss just rushed out of the building and didn’t even say where he was going,” Megan reminded him. 

“Maybe he was hungry,” Brown said, grinning. 

Joel walked in and said, “We need to get a hold of the black and whites that took the reports from an accident scene. Blair has been hurt really bad. We need to find out if there were any witnesses and put an APB on the driver of the car right away. Chances are, he’s not in the same car anymore, but at least we might have somewhere to start.”

Everyone got busy at once, trying to find the officers they needed to talk to. Joel knew they would have some information soon. 

Joel got a hold of the officers in charge and got all of the information that was needed. Joel put out an APB as soon as he got off the phone. They had four witnesses coming in to do a sketch of the driver of the car. But Joel already knew who it was. Of this, there was no doubt.

!!!!!!!!!!

Jim was in the shower when he heard Simon pounding on the door. Jim put a towel around his waist and took off for the front door. He threw open the door and saw an upset and nervous looking Captain in front of him.

Jim was standing there half naked with shampoo in his hair that was going into his eyes. 

“What happened, Simon?”

Simon pushed his way in and said, “Jump in the shower and rinse off while I tell you what’s going on. Come on, you can’t go anywhere like that.”

Jim jumped back into the running water and rinsed off quickly. He dried off and put his boxers on while Simon was telling him exactly what he knew about Blair. Jim rushed up the stairs, got dressed in record time and was back downstairs in five minutes. 

“Let’s go, sir. I’m ready.”

“Get your gun, Jim, and your badge. You’re not ready yet,” Simon instructed. 

Jim grabbed his shoulder holster, put it on, put the gun in and then his jacket over it and was once again ready. 

“Badge?” Simon asked. 

“It’s in my pocket, Simon. Now, let’s go.”

!!!!!!!!!!

When they came charging into the emergency room, Jim was crazed. He got to the desk and said, “I’m Detective Ellison and this is Captain Banks from CPD. One of our officers was in an accident and we have to see him right away. His name is Blair Sandburg.”

“Yes, we have a Blair Sandburg. I didn’t realize he was a policeman or I would have notified you before. He’s in room 3A, just go through this door and try and not get in the way,” Beth said. 

Jim looked at her name tag and said, “Thank you, Beth. We’ll stay out of the doctor’s way.”

Jim and Simon went through the doorway and found room 3A and opened up the door. Doctor Spenser was there. He knew Jim and Blair very well, from their visits through the years and was glad to see Jim had been called. 

“Hello, Jim. Hello, Simon. Let me get right to it. Blair needs to go into surgery, but he’s unconscious and we wanted him to be alert when we took him in to repair his arm and his leg. So right now, we’re treating his concussion first and hope to have him wake up before we do anything else. Any questions?”

“How bad is he?” Jim asked worriedly. 

“He’s bad, Jim. We’re getting ready to send him up for a CAT scan on his brain to see if there is any unusual swelling that we need to know about. The breaks can be fixed in no time, but his head is worrying us. You can stay here with him while I go and find the neurologist that’s going to be taking over. Oh, and it’s his left hand and right foot. Be careful with them,” Doctor Spenser said. 

Jim stood next to Blair right side of the bed and held his hand. Jim leaned in and kissed Blair on the lips, even though he smelled of hospital and blood. He still wanted to kiss him and let him know that Jim was there right then. 

Simon got up and moved towards the door to give Jim some privacy. 

“Simon, it’s okay. You can stay. Blair would want you here, too. Could you do me a favor? Take my phone and call Naomi and tell her that her son is in the hospital. She might want to know. Then again, I could be wrong,” Jim said sounding almost hateful. 

Simon picked up Jim’s phone and called Naomi. He left a detailed message and asked her to get back to them right away. 

Simon looked over at Jim and had never seen him look at anyone the way he was looking at Blair. _Everyone should be so lucky as to have someone like this in their life._

“Jim, talk to him. Let him know you’re here,” Simon coaxed. 

Jim said, “Blair, since the day I met you, my life has continued to get better and better. Meeting you was a joy in my life. Falling in love with you was even more of a joy. It was a blessing and I’m sure you knew exactly what you were doing, but I never knew if we were doing things the right way or not. I’m supposed to be this tough guy, but without your help, I’m lost, Blair. You have to get better, not only for yourself, but for me and all of the guys at the bullpen. That’s including Megan. She’s one of the guys. Now, if you have to rest for awhile, that’s fine, but if you can, I would love to see your beautiful blue eyes before they take you into surgery. I know I would feel better. The doctor would feel better and I think even Simon would feel better. Try and wake up for me, Chief.”

Blair blinked his eyes and opened them. “Hey, Jim.”

“The love of my life is awake, Simon. I sure missed your voice, Blair. Do you think you can stay awake for awhile?” Jim asked. 

“I love you, Jim, just so much that I can’t even begin to tell you about it. Promise me that you’ll stay with me, here at the hospital and Simon will take care of this.”

“Blair, did you see who did it?” Jim asked, Simon moved up beside him to listen. 

“It was Sid Graham. He shot my car and made me lose control of it. Jim, promise me that you’ll stay here with me,” Blair pleaded. 

“I promise, Blair. I’m not leaving until the doctor says you are all better and ready to come home. Simon and the guys will take care of all this without me. I don’t want you worrying about it at all,” Jim swore. 

Doctor Spenser came in with another doctor and saw Blair was awake. “Hello, Blair. This is Doctor Giffin and he’s going to be treating your banged up head. How are you feeling?”

“I feel like shit, Doc. My arm hurts, my leg hurts and my head is killing me. I want to know when I get to go home,” Blair whined. 

“Not for awhile, Blair,” Doctor Giffin said, calmly. “We have to get you feeling better and back in shape again. That might take a little while.”

“Will my significant other be able to sit in my room all day and night?” Blair asked him. 

“Yes, Doctor Spenser has told me all about you two. You are welcome to stay, Jim. Just don’t get in my way,” Doctor Giffin said nicely. 

“Okay, Blair, Doctor Giffin is taking you up for a CAT scan and then we’ll get the surgery going for your arm and leg. Jim, you can go along, but you can’t go in during the CAT scan. Understood?” Spenser asked. 

“Understood. I know the rules, Doc. I’ll be good, I promise. And Blair doesn’t have to worry at all about me leaving for anything,” Jim said. 

Simon said, “Blair, you get better and take care of Jim for us too.”

“Thank you, Simon. Let us know when you find him,” Jim said. 

Simon left the room and they wheeled the bed out into the hallway. Jim held Blair’s hand the entire way and Doctor Giffin saw how much they meant to each other and now understood why Spenser had told him not to separate them. Jim seemed to be like pain medication for Blair. He was doing just fine and everyone knew how much pain he was in. Yes, Jim was helping him. 

When they finished the CAT scan, Doctor Giffin said, “Okay, we’ve got a surgery room ready for you, Blair. Jim can wait right in this room until we bring you out. Neither of you need to worry about a thing. Things will be much better when all of the surgery is done. 

Two other doctors took off with Blair into the OR and Doctor Giffin remained with Jim. 

Jim asked, “You’re not going along?”

“No, I’m not needed there, Jim. I wanted to tell you that Blair’s brain seems fine. There was nothing to worry about in the CAT scan. I knew you would be wondering about it.”

Jim didn’t wonder, he had heard everything they said while they were in the room discussing Blair’s brain. But it’s not like Jim could tell him that. So instead he said, “Thank you, Doctor Giffin. I will rest easier now.”

!!!!!!!!!!

Simon got to the bullpen and told everyone who they were looking for and they were all shocked. It’s one thing to hold a grudge; it’s another to shoot the person you are holding the grudge against.

The manhunt started and while they were all looking for him, Megan Connor came into the bullpen and said, “We just got word that there is a dead woman matching Naomi’s description near the river. Who do you want to go to that?”

“I’ll go with you, Connor. I know her well and will able to see if it’s Naomi or not,” Simon said as he walked towards the elevator. 

Once inside the car, Simon said, “I would like to pay a visit to the PI we talked to the other day. He might know where Sid Graham is and what type of car he’s driving. They got too many descriptions at the scene of the hit and run today. Are you up for some good cop, bad cop?”

“I’m always up for good cop, bad cop. Which one am I, again?” Megan asked smiling. 

“You’re the good one, so put on a happy and helpful face,” Simon ordered as they pulled up in front of the Brandon Sawyer’s office.

They walked in the door and Sawyer looked alarmed. He was packing boxes as he talked. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m here with Captain Banks to be sure that everything is done according to procedure. There can’t be any slip ups. I know you don’t want to be charged with the attempted murder of one, Blair Sandburg. Now, we know that you’ve been tailing him, so you are our first suspect in the case. In fact, we have no one else. No one else seemed to have a thing against Blair Sandburg but you. Now, Captain Banks wants to arrest you, right now, but I assured him that you would probably go out of your way to help us find whoever was behind the murder attempt. Am I right, Mr. Sawyer?” Megan asked, sugar sweetly. 

“Yes, I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I didn’t have anything to do with this. He called me a minute ago and told me he killed Sandburg. You’re saying he’s still alive?” Sawyer asked, very nervously. 

“Yes, he’s still alive. Now, who called you?” Megan asked calmly. 

Sawyer felt anything but calm with Simon towering over him. The PI knew, he shouldn‘t have taken the job as soon as he found out Blair was a cop. But he wasn’t going down for something he didn’t do. 

“It was Sid Graham and Naomi Sandburg that paid me. But Naomi seemed to really be worried about her son at that time. I think Sid wanted him dead from moment one. He’s driving a navy blue Ford. Not sure of the model. But I have his plate number, because I saved it in case I needed it. This is it,” Sawyer reached in and got the paper out and handed it to Megan. 

“Thank you so much, Mr. Sawyer. Let me call this in and I’ll get back to our questions,” Megan said as she walked over to Simon. 

Simon took the paper, called the bullpen, gave the information to Joel and hung up. 

Megan walked back over to Sawyer and said, “Why was he being tailed?”

“His mother and Sid thought that he might be having an affair with Ellison. Ms. Sandburg wasn’t going to stand for that. Then when I told them I saw him go to the same room as Ellison every night, Ms. Sandburg got upset, but Sid went nuts. He screamed about how this wasn’t going to happen. He mentioned that he would see to it that Blair suffered as much as he had suffered. That’s when Ms. Sandburg got upset with Sid. She told him she didn’t want to do this anymore and he said he would talk to her to the car. He was very angry. I was worried about her welfare, but she looked like she might be able to handle him. So I decided to mind my own business,” Sawyer said. 

“So, you got paid good money just to tell them two men were in love?” Megan asked. 

“Well, it’s a living. I have to make one just like you do,” Sawyer said in his own defense. 

Simon walked towards the door and said, “Don’t go anywhere. We will find you if we need to ask more questions.”

“Thank you for believing my statement,” Sawyer said. 

“Just don’t live the city, I’m warning you,” Connor said, very angrily. 

They both walked out and went to the car. They both knew at that moment that it was probably Naomi Sandburg on the rivers edge. They got into the car and drove quietly across town.

!!!!!!!!!!

When they arrived at the crime scene, Dan Wolfe was there with the body.

Simon walked up to Dan and said, “Hello, Dan. Can I see her face?”

They were done with what they needed to do, so he rolled her over and sure enough it was Naomi. She had been shot three times in the head. 

“Shit…” Simon spat out. 

“You know her, Simon?” Dan asked. 

“It’s Sandburg’s mom. He’s been hurt in a car accident and now this. He’s not going to take this well.”

Megan said, “Dan, did you find anything out of the ordinary?”

“I have three shell casings and bullets that went through her head, which you might want to see if they belong to the shooter when you find him. I take it you know who it is?” Dan asked. 

“It’s Sid Graham. He’s the one from the dissertation fiasco from last year. Poor Sandburg is never going to be able to get away from that mess,” Simon stated. 

“Tell Blair that I’m sorry for his loss. I will take extra care with her. I’m sorry for all of you having to deal with this,” Dan said. 

Connor wrote a bunch of notes in her pad and then she and Simon left after signing out. 

“It’s crazy shit. But she must have pissed Graham off when she stood up for Sandy,” Megan said. 

“His name is Sandburg, Connor. Call him that or Blair. Why does he have to have a nickname from you? Jim calls him Chief, you call him Sandy, Brown calls him Hairboy, what’s going to be next?” Simon was babbling. 

“It’s all right, Simon. Jim will take care of Blair. He’ll be sure and tell him the right way.”

“And what way is that, Connor? If there is a right way, I wish someone would tell me so I can break the news to Jim.”

They got into the car and started back to the station. Neither of them talked, they both had a lot on their minds.

!!!!!!!!!!

After surgery, a nurse took Jim to a room and told him to wait there. About fifteen minutes later, a bed came rolling in, with Blair on it. He was as white as the sheets and had black and blue marks all over his body from where he had been tossed around in the pickup. He looked really bad.

Doctor Spenser came in and said, “We’ve done everything we could to get his arm and leg set properly. I’m not promising anything, but I think he’ll be able to go back to work when he is done with therapy. The breaks were worse than we had thought, so this is going to be hard on him. He’s on a lot of pain medication so we don’t expect him to wake up for at least 12 hours. Please don’t wake him up on purpose. He’s bad, Jim. He’s going to be all right but for right now, let’s take good care of him and keep him from getting upset.”

“So, how long do you think he’ll have to stay in the hospital?” Jim asked. 

“About ten days, I would say. That’s if he does well with therapy. He’s got to use both the arm and the leg properly before they can heal correctly. Are you going to be here the entire ten days?” Doctor Spenser asked. 

“Yes, I’m going to take some personal time and go from there. Thank you for everything, Doc.”

“You’re very welcome. See if you can sleep, too.” 

Jim sat in the chair next to Blair’s bed and used the room phone. He decided he would call his dad. William liked Blair a great deal and Jim would hate for his dad to hear about this on the news. 

“Ellison…”

“Hi dad, what are you doing?” Jim asked. 

“What’s wrong, Jimmy? I can hear the worry in your voice,” William stated. 

“Blair’s been in a horrible car accident and I didn’t want you finding out from the news. He’s in the hospital. He’s on the Ortho Surgical floor which is on the fifth floor. His room is 510 and I would love some company if you feel like it. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here,” Jim said. 

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, Jimmy. Just watch over him and I’ll be there soon.” 

Jim hung up the phone and felt a lot better. Sometimes a person just needs their dad to talk to. 

He had no sooner sat down and Simon walked into the room. Jim could tell it was bad news. 

“What? What’s happened?” Jim asked. 

“Graham killed Naomi,” Simon whispered so that only Jim could hear. 

“Oh God…” Jim sat back down and put his face in his hands. Then he realized he couldn’t be weak. He had to stay strong for Blair. He sat up straight and said, “Let’s walk down the hall and you tell me about it.”

Simon did just that. 

When they were done, Simon walked to the elevator and Jim just walked into the room. He watched over Blair for about an hour and then decided that he wanted to wash his face and see if that helped to wake him up. 

His dad walked into the room and saw Jimmy and thought the worst. “Oh my God, what happened?”

Jim took William out into the hallway and told him about Naomi being killed. William was in shock. He had just seen her six months before that and she was so alive and carefree. 

They both sat on the chairs outside Blair’s room and talked about things. 

Jim decided to tell him about him and Blair. William laughed and Jim looked hurt. William said, “Do you take me for a fool? I’ve known about the two of you for at least eight months. I was just waiting for you to tell me. I knew you would, but I was hoping for a better occasion than this. He’s strong, Jimmy. He’s going to be fine. Yes, he’s going to miss his mother, but it won’t matter because he’ll always have her memories in his heart. And you’ll be there to catch him when he falls. Because you know he’ll have days that are bad. You have to be strong, Jimmy.”

“I promise I will be, Dad.” 

“And I believe that to be the truth, Jimmy. Now, you go and rest and I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll bring something up if I can. Sleep well, son,” William said, as he hugged his son close to his heart. 

Jim almost fell apart when his father hugged him. But then he remembered to stay strong for Blair. He had to do that.

!!!!!!!!!!

The manhunt had escalated as the night went on. But nothing had turned up as yet. Everyone in Major Crimes knew about Blair’s mom and felt horrible, but they also knew they all had a job to do. They needed to find this man and find him fast.

Simon couldn’t think of a place that he would be. He had no where to go, but yet Major Crimes still hadn’t found him. Simon called Joel into his office. 

“Simon, is there news?”

“No, I wanted to get your take on something. Do you suppose that he wanted to shoot Blair all along?”

Joel thought for a moment and agreed. He asked, “So, you want someone on the hospital?”

“Yes, I think that would help me feel better, Joel. Thank you for agreeing with me. Do you want to set up a team for the Ortho Surgical Floor?” 

“I’ll do it right now, Simon. Try and rest a little bit. I’ll get on this right away.”

!!!!!!!!!!

Jim decided he was going to finally get in the bathroom and scrub his face. That might help him sleep a little better. While in there, cleaning the day’s sweat off his face he heard someone come into the room. They were being especially quiet and Jim immediately knew it was someone there to hurt his Blair.

Jim came flying out of the bathroom and saw that Sid Graham was pointing a gun at Blair’s stomach. Jim tackled him and forced him to the floor. Jim couldn’t believe how much the man must have hated Blair to try and do this to him out in the open. He put cuffs on him and called Simon, all the while Blair was still sleeping.

Jim took him cuffed and out in the hallway when four cops showed up to take him. 

Jim watched them take Graham away and walked back into the room. He sat in his chair, next to Blair’s bed. Before long he was sleeping. He heard Doctor Spenser come in once but didn’t want to wake up just yet. Asleep, he could dream that this was all a nightmare. Awake he would have to face it and help Blair face it. 

Blair woke up and moaned and Jim was awake instantly. “You in pain, babe?”

“You could say that, Jim. Tell them I need something, anything. God, it hurts.”

Jim walked down to the desk and asked them if they could bring something for Blair for pain. The nurse, named Betty, looked it up, got the vial of meds and a needle and walked down to Blair’s room. She shot the meds into Blair’s IV and he started breathing better right away. Before long he was sleeping again. 

“Thank you, Betty,” Jim said, kindly. 

“You are most welcome. Now, see if you can sleep, too. Sleep when he does, it’s the best way to manage it.”

Jim slid down onto the chair and leaned his head next to Blair’s bed. He was sleeping in moments.

!!!!!!!!!!

William brought breakfast but wasn’t sure he wanted to wake Jim up; he was sleeping so soundly. So, William sat out in the hallway eating one of the breakfast sandwiches. Jim woke up and walked out to the hallway and sat on the next chair and said, “Thought you were going to feed me?”

William started laughing and handed the bag to Jim. Jim ate like he hadn’t seen food in a week. After all, he hadn’t eaten in one whole day. He was starving. 

He was drinking some of the coffee and heard Blair waking up. “Come on in, he’s awake.”

Blair smiled as Jim entered the room with William. 

“Hello William, how are you doing?” Blair asked. 

“Better yet, Blair, how are you doing?” William asked, back. 

“I see by the cast, I must have a broken wrist and leg. How exciting, I have never broken those ones before. First time for everything, I guess.”

William said, “Do you need anything?”

“Why are you here?” Blair asked, looking and sounding a little confused. 

“Jimmy called me and told me about the two of you and what happened with you and I asked if I could bring breakfast for him. You can’t have anything yet. Maybe they’ll bring you Jell-O,” William said. 

Jim just watched as the two of them talked and knew he was going to have to tell Blair soon, before Simon got there. Jim looked at his watch and saw it was already 8:00. 

“You got somewhere to be, Jim?” Blair asked. 

“No, I just wondered when Simon would be here.”

“Why is Simon coming up?” Blair asked, somewhat nervous now. He could see something was wrong with Jim. Something had happened. 

“He has to come up and see you and make sure you’re all right,” Jim answered. 

“William, could I speak with Jim alone?”

“You certainly can, Blair. I’ll see you this afternoon,” William said as he left the room. 

“I take it something happened to my mom. You wouldn’t look like that if it was Sid Graham. What happened?”

“Blair, she fought with him about you and he killed her. I’m so sorry.” Jim began to pet Blair’s head and Blair said, “Get away from me.”

Jim pulled away and said, “What do you mean?”

“You were eating breakfast with your dad instead of waking me up and telling me about my mom?” 

“Chief, the doctor told me not to wake you up for anything, especially, bad news.”

Blair started to cry and Jim kept away from Blair, as he had asked. “Jesus Christ, Jim, hold me.”

Jim went over and held on to him for dear life and Blair cried his heart out. When Simon got there at 9:00, Jim was holding him and Blair was sleeping again. 

Simon whispered, “Do you want to talk out in the hall?”

“No, he knows about his mom and he doesn’t like that I kept it from him. So, from now on, I’m not hiding anything at all from him. Chief, wake up, Simon is here.”

“Hey Simon, is there anything new going on?” Blair asked. 

“We have Sid Graham, thanks to Jim catching him in this room last night trying to kill you. He’s got a lawyer now and won’t say anything to us. He’ll only talk to you when you get back to work,” Simon explained. 

“What do you mean, thanks to Jim? And why would Sid Graham want to talk to me?” Blair asked. 

“Jim saved your life, Blair. He cuffed him and read him his rights. Graham is quite adamant about talking to you. He’s going to go for the insanity plea if he doesn’t hear from you soon,” Simon said. 

“Sir, I don’t care if he goes for the insanity plea. It doesn’t matter. My mom is still dead, no matter where he goes. So, tell him that I’m not going to play his games.”

Blair then turned on his side and Simon looked at Jim and Jim shrugged his shoulders. “Simon, you can’t make him talk to anyone about anything. It’s his life, leave him be.”

“But Jim, he might only get five years on an insanity plea,” Simon pointed out. 

“Simon, it’s not my call anymore. It’s his and he’s made his decision. I think you should leave him for awhile so he can rest,” Jim advised. 

“See if you can talk to him for us. Maybe you can be his voice of reason.”

Simon walked out the door and Jim went and shut it so Blair could sleep. 

Jim pulled the covers over Blair and tucked him in and began to rub his temples until he heard Blair sleeping soundly.

!!!!!!!!!!

Jim slept when Blair did. He remembered what the nurse had told him.

Blair patted his hand and said, “Jim, I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, Chief, I’m here.”

“Do you think I’m a chicken shit for not going to the station and talking to him?” Blair asked. 

“First of all, you’re not a chicken. I don’t want to hear those words come out of your mouth again. Secondly, you’ll be here for ten days doing physical therapy, which is more important than Sid Graham and thirdly, he’ll just rub your face in your grief. He’s an asshole and I don’t want you to have to deal with him.”

“You always know what to say. So basically you agreed with me, right?”

“Yeah, Blair, I totally agree with you. He’s a game player and a schemer. He’s still going to go for the insanity plea when all is said and done. Mark my words,” Jim said, angrily. 

“I heard Simon say he would only get five years,” Blair said sadly. 

“And if he goes near you again, I’ll kill him this time,” Jim said. 

“I know this isn’t the time or place, but I love when you’re protective and want to save me from everyone and everything. You make me melt into a pile of goo.”

“Goo?” Jim asked, almost laughing, almost being the key word. 

“That’s going to be your new nickname, Jim. Oh Goo, can you come here a moment?” 

Jim went over to Blair and Blair pulled him in for a kiss. “I love you, Jim.”

“I know you do and I love you back.”

“But, I didn’t thank you for saving my life. So, thank you,” Blair said. 

“You are most welcome, Chief.”

“Could you tell Simon to tell Sid he can go fuck himself?” Blair asked. 

“I will call him right now and tell him.” Jim pulled his phone out and called Simon. “Simon, could you please tell Sid Graham he can go fuck himself?”

“Is he sure he doesn’t want to play this differently?” Simon asked. 

“Nope, that’s his final offer to Sid. Now, I wouldn’t mind going and tormenting him. Ask if he wants to see me,” Jim joked. 

“Anything else, Jim?”

“Yeah, tell him that we’re having his finances investigated right now and the lawyer said we’re going to take every cent he has no matter how much or how little. It’s going to be Blair’s,” Jim said, this time sounding very hateful. 

“Now, that is something I would be glad to tell him. Talk to you later,” Simon said, and hung up on Jim. 

“Chief, Simon just hung up on me. Go figure,” Jim teased. 

“Jim, are you going to help me plan a service for my mom? She’s going to be cremated and the service will be after I get out of the hospital. Unless you have a better idea,” Blair said. 

“I think we could have a service at the hospital chapel. I’m talking something small for just friends and family. You wouldn’t have to leave the building quite yet and you’d be close if you were in too much pain.”

“Can you plan it, Jim?”

“Yes, I can, but you’ll have to tell me who her friends are. I’m thinking three days from now, so you won’t look so beat up. What about that time frame?” Jim asked. 

“I’ll give you a list of names that are in my address book at the loft. If you make the calls, that would leave me more time for resting and therapy. I want to get out of here. Have they said I could go back to full duty yet?”

“Not yet, babe. It’s still early in the game. Let’s plan one thing at a time,” Jim said. 

Blair looked sad again and hopped to the next subject. “I want a lot of carnations. Those were my mom’s favorite flowers, Jim. Did you know that?”

“I didn’t, but they’re yours too, so I’m not surprised.”

“I want everything to be pretty. She deserves pretty, right?” 

“Yes, she does, Chief.”

!!!!!!!!!!

**Three days later:**

After the service at the hospital chapel, everyone that knew Blair went up to his room and wished him well. It had been a lovely service. Jim had gone overboard on the carnations, but he figured afterwards they could use them in some of the patient’s rooms. The nurses liked this idea a lot. Blair slept off and on all day and Jim kept guard over him so no one would speak ill of Naomi or Blair in this room. Jim kept waiting for someone Sid knew to ruin it, but it never happened and that night when they went to sleep, everything was calm and peaceful. 

Jim pulled the bed on the other side of the semi-private room over to Blair’s bed and he said, “I’m sleeping with you tonight. Do you have any objections?”

“None, why didn’t we think of this sooner?” Blair asked. 

“We didn’t think of it at all, I did,” Jim kidded. 

“I think mom would have liked her service today, Jim.”

“I would like to think she would have been proud of both of us for pulling this off with one of us being in a hospital bed,” Jim replied. 

“I really miss her. I wish she could have been happier about us being a couple,” Blair said. 

“Blair, I think it was more about you being a cop that she hated. I think she knew all along that we were fated for each other.”

“Do you think that Sid hated me just because he lost his job?” 

“Sid had dreams of being very important. You were going to help him get there. You would have, if things would have been different. But you gave him every chance to back off and he didn’t listen. He was in the wrong, Blair. And it had nothing to do with his job.”

“Have I mentioned today how much I love you?” Blair asked. 

Jim smiled and kissed Blair. “I could tell, it doesn’t need to be said all the time.”

!!!!!!!!!!

**Ten days after surgery:**

Doctor Spenser came into the room and caught Jim and Blair kissing. 

“Hey, who said kissing is allowed in this room?” 

Blair pointed at Jim and said, “He did, he did.”

Spenser smiled at both of the grinning fools and said, “Who wants to go home today?”

“I do, I do,” Blair shouted. 

“I have good news then. The therapy has gone well. You’ve worked harder than anyone could and it’s paid off. You’ll be able to go on desk duty in a week and back on full duty after the casts come off in a month. What do you think of that?” 

“I think you’re a great doctor and I thank you for everything you have done for me. You’ve been a great friend for Jim when things were not fun and I appreciate it. You’re a great man. Thank you,” Blair said. 

As soon as Doctor Spenser signed the papers, they were ready to go. Jim called up Megan and had her get the sheets changed at the loft and make up the futon in the office because they would be sleeping down there for awhile. Jim didn’t know if he could sleep in that small bed, but he was certainly going to try it.

!!!!!!!!!!

After Blair went back to work, things started to fall back into place just like they should. Blair was doing a lot of filing, not just for Jim but for anyone that asked. He was so fucking bored. He hated being on desk duty.

Simon went to his doorway and said, “Sandburg, my office.”

Blair limped into the room and said, “Simon, it’s not Jim is it?”

“No, it’s not Jim. Why do you two always think the worst?” Simon asked. 

“Second nature, I would guess. What’s up?”

“Sit down, I have some things to tell you,” once Blair was sitting, he continued, “Sid Graham took an overdose of pills at the hospital he was at. They had just informed him that because of the attempted murder of a police officer, he wouldn’t be getting out in five years as planned; he would be there for 15. I guess he couldn’t take it. And the lawyer that William asked to sue Sid Graham left a message for you with William. I’ll step out so you can call him privately.”

Blair sat down and called William. 

“Ellison…”

“Hello, William. I hear you have a message for me,” Blair said. 

“Yes, Colin Williams called and tried to reach you at the house and didn’t want to call you at work. He’s finished the suit and wanted you to know that Sid Graham had a little more money then we had thought. So, you will be getting his one million dollar estate to do with what you will. I know this doesn’t make up for anything, but at least you get something, right?” William asked. 

“Yes, you are right, William. Did you tell Jim already?”

“No, that’s for you to take care of. Now, you go back to work and call Colin tomorrow for the details,” William advised. 

“Thank you, William, for everything.” Blair hung up the phone and had that ping of sadness in his heart knowing he would never have a parent to go to again. _I guess I will have to use, William._

Blair had tears in his eyes when Simon walked back into his office. “Do you need a hug, Sandburg?”

“You’re giving hugs now, Simon?”

“No, I was going to get Joel or Megan,” Simon joked. “You okay, Blair?”

“Yes, Simon, I’m all right. I feel stronger than I have in ages and now we’ll have enough money for a house somewhere. The loft is too small. We’ll have more room for poker night, right?”

“Right. Get back to work.” Simon held the door and slammed it shut as Blair walked out. 

As he sat back down at his desk, Megan walked over and asked, “Is anything wrong, Sandy?”

“Nothing is wrong, Megan. You know everyone wonders why I became a cop and they didn’t realize that I enjoy the roller coaster ride every day. At the university, it was a Merry-go-round. I used to say a Ferris wheel, but that was even more exciting then my life there. I liked being a teacher but not as much as being Jim’s partner in life and work. I love my job and I hope that I’ll prove to everyone here what a good job I can do.”

“You already have, Sandy,” Megan said as she pulled him in for a much needed hug. 

Blair looked around the bullpen and realized he was exactly where he wanted to be. Now, where was his better half? 

Jim walked into the bullpen at that very moment and saw how happy Blair was and knew everything would be just fine. 

The end


End file.
